Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative Celebrates 50th Anniversary Gala

SMEC’s original 1975 staff and retirees posed for a photo at the collaborative’s 50th Anniversary Golden Gala. Robert Dunn, second from right, served as the Executive Director of SMEC from 1975 to June 2007. (Photo Courtesy Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative)

ACUSHNET — They sang, they danced, and they laughed the night away.

Executive Director Catherine Cooper is excited to announce that the Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative (SMEC) celebrated its 50th Anniversary on Friday, April 4, with a Golden Gala benefit dance.

The event was sponsored by the collaborative’s parent association, the Friends of SMEC. Approximately 400 people attended the event at the Seaport Inn in Fairhaven and enjoyed music and dancing with a DJ, raffles, contests, and time with each other.

Memory Lane

In 1972, Massachusetts passed Ch. 766 (now MGL Ch. 71b), a pioneering piece of legislation requiring high standards for educating students with disabilities in schools and served as a foundation for the passage of the federal Public Law 94-142, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), in 1975.

In those days, several towns in southeastern Massachusetts — including Acushnet, Fairhaven, and Rochester — had one person in charge of special education: Bill Quinlan.

Quinlan initially used state grant funds to hire Robert Dunn, of Lakeville, to provide special education services under the grant to students from those towns plus Marion and Mattapoisett.

In 1974-75, the state encouraged school districts to share resources related to serving students with disabilities, and Quinlan and Dunn worked with those five school districts to establish the Southeastern Massachusetts Education Collaborative (known from 1975-1979 as the Project Orient Collaborative). MGL Ch. 40, Section 4e, originally passed in 1993, now governs the formation and operation of Educational Collaboratives in Massachusetts.

Dunn and several of the other original SMEC staff from 1975, along with many SMEC retirees, attended the 50th Anniversary Gala event.

After the gala, Dunn said that it was “great to see old colleagues who I hadn’t seen in many years and talk about the old days.”

Attendees were treated to a slide show of scanned photographs from the early days.

“That brought back a lot of memories for me of all those years that have passed since we began,” Dunn said. He served as the Executive Director of SMEC from 1975 to June 2007.

Member Services

SMEC currently has 10-member school districts and provides services to students from throughout Southeastern Massachusetts. In 1990, SMEC expanded its programming through state contracts to provide adult services to students who were aging out of special education on their 22nd birthday. Those adult students now have the option of participating in the collaborative’s Supporting Adults for Inclusive Living (SAIL) program or the SMEC Adult Day Health (ADH) program.

Today, SMEC has school programs in 10 different locations across the South Coast, plus two adult service programs in Dartmouth, and provides services to students in a number of member and non-member districts, averaging over 750 students and adults served annually. They also provide ongoing professional development for educators across the state.

“As Chair of the Board of Directors, I am extremely proud of the work SMEC does on a daily basis and the 50th Anniversary Golden Gala is a testament to that,” said Chris Oliver, Dartmouth’s representative to the SMEC Board of Directors. “The celebration that took place recognized the past 50 years that SMEC has been in operation and the positive impact the Collaborative has made in the communities it serves. It was truly a wonderful event!”

SMEC’s current Executive Director, Catherine Cooper, joined the Collaborative as the Assistant Executive Director in August 2006 and became the Executive Director upon Dunn’s retirement.

“It was a great joy to watch our clients mingle with the community at our Golden Gala,” Executive Director Cooper said. “Although the decades fly by fast, it’s a true comfort to see so many of our students and individuals living their best lives.”

About SMEC 

The Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative is a public education collaborative established in 1975. SMEC is an extension of 10 public school systems, which make up its membership. The present membership includes the Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Fall River, Marion, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, Rochester and Old Rochester Regional public school districts. SMEC accepts students for enrollment in its programs from school systems throughout Southeastern Massachusetts. The Collaborative’s programs and services are locally based and locally directed and are designed to supplement the special education resources of its member districts. SMEC offers a variety of services for students with special needs aged 3-21 as well as adults with developmental disabilities. To learn more about the Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative, visit smecollaborative.org.

###

A historical timeline of SMEC.
(Graphic Courtesy Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative)

Allan Blume and Fairhaven representative to the SMEC Board, Brendalee Smith, at the April 4 Golden Gala. (Photo Courtesy Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative)

From left, SMEC’s current Executive Director, Catherine Cooper, posed for a photo with SMEC Director of Student Services Kim Wilmot, and Old Rochester Regional Superintendent Mike Nelson. (Photo Courtesy Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative)

SMEC staff member Naomi Cooper posed for a photo with SMEC ADH (Adult Day Health) member, Kimberly Edge. (Photo Courtesy Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative)

Christy Taber Award-winner Charlie Pepin, with SAIL Community Team Coordinator Chris Lopes. (Photo Courtesy Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative)